


whether they work together or apart

by laikaspeaks



Series: FE3H Drabble Collection [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Just Add Kittens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22934929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laikaspeaks/pseuds/laikaspeaks
Summary: A series of prompts about Edelgard and Byleth.1. Something to do with kittens2. Byleth comforts Edelgard after a bad day3. Edelgard tries nachos (modern au)4. Edelgard braids Byleth's hair
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: FE3H Drabble Collection [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553494
Comments: 12
Kudos: 146





	1. Much Ado About Kittens

Edelgard found Byleth tucked into what used to be her mother's private garden. With her hair pulled back into a shaggy ponytail and a coarse-woven cloak tucked close around her armor, she could be any one of Edelgard's private guard slacking off outside of the captain's watchful eye. She wasn't entirely surprised to see Byleth twitching a blade of grass for a calico kitten. A little more so to find four more piled up in her crossed legs and another draped over her shoulder, half hanging out of the hood of her cloak. 

As she drew closer Byleth eyes lifted, and Edelgard's heart fluttered at the quiet, steady gaze. There was no replacement for the warmth that settled over Byleth's features, subtle but unmistakable. If she were honest with herself, it was something as simple as this that captured her heart so long ago.

Byleth silently held out her hand, palm up, and Edelgard gathered her skirts before accepting the invitation. The hedges rose up around her as she settled into the grass, shielding them from all eyes. Perhaps that was what made a giggle bubble up in her chest as Byleth silently piled sleepy kittens into her lap, producing them from pockets inside her cloak with playful flourishes like a magician performing on the streets of Enbarr. Edelgard scooped one up - a orange tabby with pretty golden eyes - and pressed it to her face, delighting in the fluffy cheek rubbing against hers and the eager purr that started up against her ear. 

A hand twined with her free one, familiar calluses rasping over her own. Byleth's hands were always so warm. All of her was warm. Not like the sun or fire, but more like sinking into a warm bath, all the aches and pains of Edelgard's day gradually leeching away from Byleth's mere presence. 

"Can we keep them?" Byleth said finally, her face softening into something that Edelgard was almost tempted to call puppy eyes. If only because Edelgard was familiar with Byleth's subtle expressions.

All of them? She could conservatively estimate ten, maybe more if Byleth had a few more tucked into her cloak. Where did she even find them all? They were clearly various ages, but the array of coats and colors suggested they weren't all related - Edelgard cut off that train of thought before it could spiral out of control.

"...I'm the Emperor." Edelgard said finally, absently rubbing a thumb over the pads of one of the kitten's tiny paws. Its claws pricked against her skin fine as needles, but it only purred more loudly. "I suppose I can find room... for a few... cats."

The impulsive decision was worth the smile that flickered across Byleth's features, fleeting and brilliant as a candle flame. Byleth drew her into a kiss and Edelgard melted into it with a sigh. Anything for Byleth, her light, this woman that made the brutal utility of her life into something worth living. What concession, what offering, what gift could equal this?


	2. a small comfort

Edelgard plopped into her favorite armchair with a sigh, running her hands absently over the luxurious green velvet. 

"That bad?" Byleth said, scooping up a stuffed bear from their shared bed and pressing it into Edelgard's hands. 

"You have no idea." Edelgard muttered, burying her face in the well-loved plush. It was a favorite, and one of the first gifts Byleth ever gave Edelgard. The bear was crafted from soft black lambswool with shiny glass eyes and a hand-carved wooden nose.

Privately she felt a little silly clutching a child's toy, but Byleth wouldn't judge Edelgard her small comforts. And to be frank, Edelgard was well past trying to look good in front of her wife. Not that she didn't like to impress Byleth - the woman was powerful and beautiful, and oh-so rarely impressed - but she could trust her with her silliness and her bad moods and her frustrations. Which was proved yet again when Byleth scooped her up and situated herself in the chair in Edelgard's stead, settling Edelgard in her lap and tucking her chin on Edelgard's shoulder.

"Tell me about it," Byleth said quietly.

Edelgard does. It’s petty and silly - comments made without rancor, proposals ill-considered, paperwork that repeats endlessly. All the little irritations of ruling, gathered up and revealed one by one. And like always, like she did even when Edelgard was a besotted student, Byleth listened. Not with judgement or even impatience, but with the same weight as conversations of more importance. 

Once she ran out of steam Byleth hummed against her neck, then pressed a kiss to the curve of Edelgard’s jaw, then another at her cheekbone. Gradually peppering kisses all over over face with a dedicated attentiveness. “I ran a bath for you, El. Why don’t we go and play in the bubbles? It’ll take your mind off of all that.”

Only Byleth could say “play in the bubbles” with a deadly serious face. Not even a twitch of a grin. But Edelgard was used to her wife’s oddities, and she caught the glint of playfulness in Byleth’s eyes. She sighed, mentally shoving aside her terrible day for the far better prospect of a warm bath and Byleth. “Okay.”


	3. nacho cheese

“Is this actually cheese?” Edelgard dragged a fork delicately through the processed, radioactive-orange ooze, pursing her lips at the way it dripped from the utensil. She was too polite to purposefully wrinkle her nose at the pile of nachos oozing on her plate, but her nose crinkled a little nonetheless. 

It was a cute look for her, Byleth decided. 

Byleth shrugged, picking up a chip and scooping up a healthy mix of cheese, meat and topping the mess with a slice of pickled jalapeno. “Technically.” 

“That’s not very reassuring, you realize?”

Edelgard couldn’t say exactly what about that tilt of Byleth’s head and the glint in her eyes that said ‘I wasn’t trying to be.’ but she heard it loud and clear. She loved Byleth dearly, but her girlfriend had a sense of humor that was… interesting. 

Still. Byleth wouldn’t feed her anything strange, probably. Edelgard picked up one of the less soggy chips, methodically copying Byleth’s preparation: cheese, meat, jalapeno. She regretted her life choices the moment she popped it into her mouth. All she could taste was salt and vinegar, and the cloying artificial cheese. 

It was as far from anything she ever experienced as she could possibly describe. The next bite - this time with a dab of sour cream in a futile attempt to dilute the salt - was just as bad. Perhaps if she ate more slowly Byleth would eat it all first? She did have a big appetite… 

Just as Edelgard resigned herself to powering through half of the pile, Byleth caught Edelgard’s wrist. The back of Byleth’s other hand was pressed to her mouth in the way that Edelgard recognized as amusement. She must be very, very entertained for her face to brighten so much. “You don’t have to try so hard, El.”

Edelgard dropped the offending chip with a grateful sigh. “Thank goodness.”


	4. a bitter refuge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edelgard returns a favor and helps Byleth with her hair.

“What’s all this?”

Edelgard started, and turned from fiddling with the washbasin in the middle of her tent to meet Byleth’s green stare. She didn’t expect her tactician to return so quickly - or more accurately hadn’t prepared herself for the possibility.

“Let me - do you mind if I return the favor? From the other night.” She regretted her choice of words as soon as they left her lips. They belied the innocent nature of the favor - Byleth merely offered to braid her hair after a fireball scorched it too short for her habitual buns. Even if the memory of Byleth’s fingers brushing at the base of her neck _did_ make Edelgard’s cheeks heat.

Byleth blinked. Combed her fingers through her own hair and grimaced at the filth and gore matted into the pale green strands. Eventually she nodded, eyes sliding away from Edelgard with uncharacteristic reluctance.

“Then sit... Please.” Even if the Emperor could hardly go around covered with filth, privately she wasn’t sure how to feel about the luxuries provided by her station. How many war orphans could she feed with the oils that she brushed into her hair? Which of her soldiers stumbled under the weight of the metal washbasin, or her private tent? Those were the sort of concerns she could ill-afford to entertain, but she lost sleep over them regardless.

Byleth kicked her muddy boots off before ducking under the flap, faltering only briefly at the sight of the carpeted floor.

Every line of her was tense as though that alone was what kept her on her feet. That tension abandoned Byleth as she sank wordlessly into the folding camp chair, leaving only palpable exhaustion in its wake. She let Edelgard guide her to lean back over the basin, and let out a surprised exhale at the warmth of the water. 

Byleth opened one eye. “Dorothea?”

“She doesn’t have the magic to spare.” Edelgard huffed out a laugh at the disapproval in her tone. “I used an actual fire for this.”

“Oh. Okay.” Byleth murmured. Her eyes slid closed again. She was unspeakably vulnerable like this, her neck bared perfectly for the knife or sword. Edelgard pushed the thought away, hating the way bloodshed lingered even in moments like this. 

Instead she sank her fingers into Byleth’s pale hair, gently working out the knots and dirt. 

Edelgard could see why Byleth was so content just brushing out her hair. For a moment Edelgard could drown out the cries of the wounded, the scent of fire and blood. She doubted she would ever be granted peace again - or ever deserve it. But when she was with Byleth she felt… quiet. 

Her thumb brushed over Byleth’s cheekbone, but her general didn’t even stir. Just let out a long, slow exhale, her eyelids flickering. 

Even when it made her chest ache with longing, made every touch an intimate agony. No matter how impossible, how selfish, how little she understood of her own feelings… it was a desire as simple as it was powerful. She wanted more. More and more and more, until the darkness that choked her lungs turned to fire. 

Byleth’s breath rushed over her lips, and Edelgard jerked back. _Too close._

She forced herself to return to the pleasant work, burying the impulse deep, deeper still. Edelgard didn’t let her hands or thoughts stray again - not when drying and brushing out Byleth’s hair, not when working it into a quick braid. The Emperor was an avatar of war in human skin, and Edelgard was a dead woman walking. 

What could she offer but a legacy, a memory?

She pretended not to notice the way Byleth’s hand kept going to that slowly unraveling braid in the days that followed, the subtle softness it brought to her eyes. It was more than Edelgard deserved... and more than she could bear. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Work is really making my brain not work so I'm doing prompts for now. Leave prompts in the comments or at my tumblr #newtoadprince or @ my twitter @shatterbone.
> 
> A note for the curious, the title comes from 'The Tuft of Flowers' by Robert Frost.


End file.
